DownStream Technologies and EMA Design Automation Form Strategic Partnership

New Agreement Bolsters North American Distribution Channel

Bolton, Mass – December 18, 2003 – DownStream Technologies, LLC and EMA Design Automation have announced the signing of a non-exclusive distribution and marketing agreement. Under the terms of this agreement, EMA will resell and market DownStream¹s CAM350 product line to the OrCAD® and Cadence® PCB customer base. EMA will also provide all first-level technical support and product training for the CAM350 products they sell throughout North America. This announcement comes on the heals of a previous announcement by EMA that they had signed an agreement with Cadence Design Systems to market, sell and support the OrCAD and Cadence PCB design suites.

"This partnership is a major strategic move for our company," said Rick Almeida, President of DownStream Technologies. "By adding EMA, we now have distribution access to one of the largest PCB design installations in North America - users of OrCAD and Cadence PCB products. This relationship augments our existing support of Mentor¹s PADS-PowerPCB® products and further demonstrates our commitment to providing solutions that streamline the transition of PCB engineering data into fabrication. In addition, EMA also brings the technical expertise and PCB fabrication experience customers need to help ensure first pass success getting their electronic products to market," he added.

By adding the CAM350 product line, EMA strengthens its competitive position in the marketplace and is now able to offer a design flow that includes manufacturing to the OrCAD and Cadence PCB customer base. "The reputation and market position of CAM350 clearly aligns with the type of market-leading products that we are looking to add to our product portfolio," said Manny Marcano, President of EMA. "DownStream has demonstrated a superior understanding of the mainstream PCB fabrication marketplace, as well as a commitment to continued product development. This experience and dedication is what we require when adding to our product offerings," he added.

The Need for Design for Fabrication (DFF)

While the continued trend of outsourcing PCB fabrication to offshore locations may curb some manufacturing costs, it also opens the door to potential errors and production delays. Both companies agree that the need to conduct internal Design for Fabrication (DFF) validation while still in the design phase is critical in meeting time-to-volume production schedules. "Any design changes made on the fabrication side could compromise the original engineering intent - CAM350 provides the depth of functionality our customers need to ensure their designs can be fabricated with minimal intervention from the fabricator," said Marcano.

The announcement also calls for both companies to aggressively work together to strengthen the integration between CAM350 and the OrCAD and Cadence PCB products. Downstream is investigating the development of data importing tools for CAM350 beyond traditional Gerber and will explore formats such as ODB++, the latest IPC "Offspring" format, and DownStream¹s proprietary interface, DirectCAM. Also, comprehensive training and educational services will be available for customers to help them utilize the product to its fullest potential and leverage their investment in CAM350.

The CAM350 product line is available immediately from EMA.

About DownStream Technologies

DownStream Technologies¹ CAM350 solution allows engineering and manufacturing teams to work together by supporting the verification of Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designs early in the product development process to ensure accurate and efficient manufacturing. CAM350 offers customers in the mainstream PCB marketplace significant price/performance value over alternative solutions. Customers can find out more about DownStream at www.downstreamtech.com.

About EMA Design Automation

EMA is a full-service solutions provider dedicated to the EDA marketplace. A Cadence distributor since 1998, EMA is staffed with experienced engineers and offers sales support, training and technical support. EMA is a privately held corporation headquartered in Rochester, New York. Visit EMA at www.ema-eda.com.

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© 2003 DownStream Technologies, LLC. DownStream Technologies and CAM350 are trademarks of DownStream Technologies, LLC. All rights reserved. OrCAD, Cadence PCB, and Cadence are registered trademarks of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All other trademarks in this release are the property of their respective owners.